The iOS simulator for iOS 6 shows that a 4-inch screen and 640x1136 resolution makes the most sense for the next iPhone

A new report from 9 to 5 Mac provides further evidence that Apple's next-generation iPhone will have a few screen changes, such as size and resolution.

As we near the next-generation iPhone's announcement on September 12, more and more rumors are making their way around as far as specs go. It is to have a slightly updated design with a screen that measures 3.999 inches diagonally (which is about 30 percent larger than the current iPhone 4S), a smaller dock connector (as opposed to the usual 30-pin), a relocated headphone jack, centered camera, and a unibody casing with metal backplates.

While some of these specs are still up in the air awaiting confirmation, 9 To 5 Mac may have figured out some truth to the screen-related rumors. Using the iOS simulator application in the iOS development tools, 9 To 5 Mac created a few different scenarios that compared iOS 5.1 and iOS 6.

What it found was that the iOS 6 version was fitted for larger displays (meaning the new 3.999-inch screen rather than the standard 3.5-inch screen for the current iPhone). IOS 6 is scalable to a longer display, even showing five full rows of apps per screen while the current iPhone only has four rows.

In addition, 9 to 5 Mac applied a 640x1136 resolution to the iOS 6 display using the iOS simulator, and found that this was the only resolution that fit perfectly with the screen size. Other resolutions made the screen's apps look like the iPad's layout, which is not typical of the iPhone.

It would be more efficient to use a standard microUSB connector, but since when did Apple every do something like that?

Who knows what else Apple is putting in their new dock connector as well if it remains USB 2.0. Perhaps analog audio so you can have your dock-connected speakers without requiring complex circuitry? Possibly a 2-wire interface to do some simple device control? What about future expansion considering technology will continue to expand in the next 10 years?

Apple's old 30-pin dock connector has lots of outdated signals including the original Firewire pinouts that they left nearly 10 years ago. It's about time they change it - I'm actually surprised they're not on their fifth version of a dock connector by now...